Completion of the Gold Line Eastside Extension Phase II could be as much as 30 years away, but some local cities are already taking steps to ensure a spot on the route.

The project would extend the line about 9 miles east from its present East Los Angeles terminus. But preliminary plans include four different proposed routes, with two very distinct destinations.

One proposed line would follow the 60 Freeway through Monterey Park, Rosemead and South El Monte, and out to the edge of Industry.

Three other proposals call for the line to veer south through Montebello and Whittier.

As might be expected, officials in cities along the different proposed routes make strong cases for why the extension should go their way.

“There is a lot of community support for the project here,” said Monterey Park City Manager June Yotsuya. “And the cities want it … It will bring in development and a new tax base, which is attractive for any city.”

On Thursday, the Monterey Park City Council voted to go on record supporting the 60 Freeway proposal – and to create a coalition with neighboring cities to more forcefully lobby the Metropolitan Transportation Agency to adopt the route.

But Whittier City Manager Steve Helvey can argue just as fervently for the more-southerly route.

“The lines here would have the highest ridership. We’d be able to pick up northern Orange County and connect it to our county transit,” he said.

The three Whittier routes would also run along the 60 Freeway initially, but would then turn south on Garfield Avenue. From there, the proposed 8.9-mile Beverly Boulevard line would run to the Greenway Trail in Whittier.

A second option calls for an 8.9-mile route along Beverly Boulevard to Montebello Boulevard and then to Whittier Boulevard, while a third proposal would create a 9.3-mile line along Washington Boulevard. All three proposed routes would end up near the Five Points area in Whittier.

The 8.5-mile 60 Freeway route, meanwhile, would end just past the 605 Freeway in Industry.

The 60 Freeway route has some drawbacks – it has the most potential for environmental challenges, and it would have the lowest projected ridership numbers, said Kimberly Yu, project manager for the Gold Line extension.

The line would run through a federal Superfund site and also traverse through the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area.

But the proposed Whittier routes, which would run through heavily-populated neighborhoods – instead of just along the freeway – will probably churn up strong community opposition, Yu said.

“We have a lot of community support along the 60,” said Yu. “You always want a consensus on the project along the local jurisdictions that are affected.”

The Whittier routes also would cost more to build, transit officials said.

But Helvey believes the routes – he favors a Washington Boulevard line – would generate strong support from residents. And unlike Monterey Park officials, he doesn’t believe that showing up at MTA meetings to lobby for the project is productive.

“It’s not a cheerleading contest,” he said. “Realistically, what MTA is going to do is assess the environmental challenges on each route and come up with the best one.”

MTA officials last week committed funding for further environmental study of the routes. That process should take about 28 months and could end up eliminating some of the proposed routes, said Yu.

While there currently is no funding for two lines, there’s always a remote chance that both a Whittier line and a 60 Freeway line could be built one day, Yu said.

She cited the debate over where to create a bus line or a light rail line from downtown Los Angeles to the Westside. The MTA started with the idea of doing one project but is now constructing a light-rail line along Exposition Boulevard while also looking at a bus-only lane along Wilshire Boulevard.

And as of right now, the Gold Line extension has no clear construction date, although the Long Range Transportation Plan puts the completion date of the project at 2037.

But the line does have guaranteed funding from the recently passed Measure R, leaving planners hopeful the route could be completed sooner.

It all depends on when the extension project begins receiving funding promised by Measure R, said Yu. If that happens by the early 2020s, the extension could be completed by 2027, she said.